Gopal is an independent basketball writer based out of Bangalore whose articles have appeared in print publications such as Hindu Business Line, Fountain Ink and The Caravan. He also contributes to online platforms sportskeeda.com, tadpoles.in and The Alternative. Email: gopal@ekalavyas.com

Two cracking finals are on the cards, to be played on our Independence Day, to cap off this year’s PSG All India Basketball Tournament. The tournament is being organized by the PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore, with all the matches being held in their indoor sports complex.

Men’s dynasties ONGC and IOB will clash yet again to decide who gets to add silverware to their already overflowing trophy cabinets. In the women’s section, the unstoppable Southern Railway team will take on South Central Railway, which has impressed with their consistent showing in their previous league games.

The men’s semi-finals panned out exactly as expected. The star studded ONGC, Dehradun easily withstood all that Cochin Customs could throw at them. ONGC dominated the paint, courtesy centres Amrit Pal Singh and Murali Krishna, who helped them to a 20 point win.

In the second semifinal, IOB’s Pratham Singh and Amjyot Singh showcased the gains from their recent international exposure at the FIBA Asia Championships. Pratham had 24 and Amjyot contributed 20 to send Punjab packing. Vikramjit Singh’s valiant 25 point effort was the lone bright spark in Punjab’s offence, which could muster only 48 points through the four quarters.

In an intense women’s semi-final, South Central Railway got the better of Southeastern Central Railway. The match remained neck and neck throughout, with South Central eventually winning 75-65. South Central’s triple threat of Aashna, Anusha and Manda proved to be more impactful than Southeastern’s big three of Pushpa (26 pp), Deepa and Aakansha. Despite this win, South Central Railway face the ominous task of upsetting Southern Railway when they face each other in the finals.

In what turned out to be the most lop-sided semifinal of the day, Southern Railway (women) stormed into the finals. International star Anitha Paul Durai of Southern scored a massive 30 points en route to a 79-26 decimation of their opponents, Western Railway.